Volume 9, Issue 4 p. 214-221
Research Article

Eastern Antarctic Peninsula precipitation delivery mechanisms: process studies and back trajectory evaluation

Andrew Russell

Corresponding Author

Andrew Russell

Centre for Atmospheric Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK

Centre for Atmospheric Sciences, School of Earth, Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences, Simon Building, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK.Search for more papers by this author
Glenn R. McGregor

Glenn R. McGregor

Department of Geography, King's College London, London, UK

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Gareth J. Marshall

Gareth J. Marshall

British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge, UK

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First published: 18 June 2008
Citations: 1

Abstract

The atmospheric circulation patterns that result in precipitation events at a site on the eastern Antarctic Peninsula (AP) are investigated using back trajectories (BTs) driven by ERA-40 data. Moisture delivery occurs from the east and west depending on the location of blocking events in the South Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Observations are sparse in this region, so our process studies compare the trajectories (and the ERA-40 fields from which they were derived) with advanced very high resolution radiometer (AVHRR) satellite images. It is found that the trajectories represent these transport mechanisms very well and that they are relatively insensitive to the initial trajectory elevation. Copyright © 2008 Royal Meteorological Society